Liability Insuranc3 Flashcards
Why is there a need to effect employer’s liability
So that if a court action is lost the employee’s successful claim for damages is covered by the insurance
Employer’s Liability Act 1969
That employers in Great Britain must be insured against liability for bodily injury or disease sustained by their employees arising out of and in the course of their employment in the business
What did the Employer’s Liability Compulsory Insurance regulation 1988 change
It made a key extension increasing the minimum limit from 2 million pounds to 5 million pounds. Insurers usually provide a 10 million pound limit
What type of accidents make it difficult to know who should be held responsible and liable for subsequent employer’s liability claim
Many industrial illness and some accidents
In 1999 EL service was set up to address which issues
If the original company who employed the claimant at the time the illness was contracted or accident occurred had
1.changed insurers
2.been taken over by another and so change in the name
3.cease trading due to bankruptcy
Or if the original insurer had been taken over/cease trading
EL service was replaced by
Employers Liability tracing office(ELTO)
What is the employers Liability Tracing office job(ELTO)
It is an independent, not for profit company set up by the insurance industry, to provide claimants and their representative with quick and easy access to a database of EL polices through an online enquiry facility
What did the FCA make compulsory in April 2012 in relation to EL
It made it compulsory for all members of the ELTO to provide details of their employers liability policies along with policy records relating to historic covers triggered by claims to allow the tracking of policies by claimants through employers’ liability Database
What was another additional requirement by the FCA
All employers to provide their EL insurers with an employer reference number, the number is unique to the employer and can’t be replicated. All insurers must supply the ERN to the Employers Liability Database(ELD)
Employer Liability Tracing office has adopted the employer reference number as the most effective unique identifier available. Why is that so
This is because even if the employer is taken over/ceases trading/moves tax office the ERN for a specific point in time is permanent
Regular users of the ELD are required to register to gain access to unlimited number of enquiries. How is the registration process
Registration is free, benefits of registration include pre-population of some data fields and unlimited enquiries
Does EL policy have a standard wording
No, wordings vary between insurers
It is common to issue combined liability policy,, than separate ones. What do they constitute of
They constitute of Employers/Public/Product liability. Although separate sections and clause usually apply to each type of liability
All employers Liability policies provide indemnity to
To the insured for legal liability for damages(including claimant costs and expenses) in respect of bodily injury/death/disease/illness sustained by any person under a contract of service/apprenticeship with the insured
For EL to be effective it has to be
- caused during the period of insurance
- arising out of and in the course of their employment by the insured
- in connection with the trade/b’ness
- occurring within certain territorial limits
Under the term Legal Libaility, The Employer Liability policy only indemnifies
It only indemnifies the insured in respect of their legal liability to pay damages
When an accident occurs and its a pure accident no negligence, which policy is supposed to be in effect
The employee must rely on personal accident and sickness insurance/social security system to obtain benefits
When an employee suffers injury as a result of their employer’s breach of statutory duty or fellow employee negligence they will be entitled to seek compensation. What are the different forms of compensation
- Compensation for any expenses incurred
- compensation for loss of earnings
- Compensation for possible loss of future earnings
- compensation for pain and suffering
- compensation for other items
What is Vicarious Liability
This is when the employer is liable for the negligence of employees arising in the course of their employment
Is an employer’s liability over an employees property covered under Employers Liability
No, this is not covered because EL is concerned only with death/injury/disease. Loss/damage of property would come under public liability
What is the definition of an employee
This is any person who is under a contract of service or apprenticeship with the insured
Most policies extend the category of direct employee to include
self employed persons/hired persons/student on work experience
Why do insurers ask for an extensive list of persons employed in a firm
The intention is to ensure that the insurer receives an adequate premium by asking for declaration of wages/earning for each category, which is used to fix and adjust premium
Some diseases develop over a period of time and may not become apparent until some years after they first started, possibly after the relevant policy has expired,does the insurer still cover this
Provided the injury/disease was caused during the period of insurance, the insurer is liable and it is immaterial that the policy may have expired